Main examples of conventional output control software include device drivers including a printer driver for outputting print data to peripheral devices, such as a printer, present on a network. Another example of the output control software is software for controlling output to an external system, specifically, an application that controls output of data to a storage system or the like on a network, such as the Internet.
The device drivers include an in-box driver installed in an operating system (OS) and a driver that is additionally installed in an OS by a user (hereinafter, referred to as an out-box driver).
For example, a new printer on the market sometimes cannot be supported by an in-box driver installed in an existing OS. In such a case, using an out-box driver has been recommended. In contrast to the in-box driver, the out-box driver has a function for controlling a function unique to a corresponding device.
A known technique for using a function equivalent to an out-box driver corresponding to a new printer on the market using a driver installed in a client device is disclosed in PTL 1. PTL 1 discloses a technique for plugging a program for controlling a printer-unique function downloaded from the printer into a driver installed in a client device.
In recent years, the out-box driver or the technique disclosed in PTL 1 cannot sometimes be used depending on the kind of the OS. For example, Microsoft Windows™, which is an OS for tablet personal computers (hereinafter, referred to as tablet PCs), has a specification in which an out-box driver and a plug-in device driver cannot be installed. Under such an OS environment, there is a possibility that output control suitable for a new peripheral device on sale or output itself cannot be performed using an in-box driver of an OS.